Getting Started Playing DFS Golf on DraftKings
Intro to DFS Golf
Whether you're new to DraftKings golf daily fantasy sports (DFS) or having trouble finding a profit week by week, the next few paragraphs will aim to provide you with the building blocks of a solid DFS golf foundation. We'll explore the various contest options, roster construction, and getting the best value out of your dollars. We'll also give you the first few stepping stones before you wager your first dollar. Let’s get you set to see some green screens on DraftKings this weekend.
Before you get too deep into it there are some things you need to know with daily fantasy golf; golf is a volatile sport and easily the toughest to navigate week by week. Course history, scoring difficulty, grass types, recent player form, long-term form, weather, unreported injuries…You can see where we're going with this. Many factors play a part in the outcome of a golf tournament. Like anything gambling related, play within your boundaries.
DraftKings Golf Contest Types
Though there are many different variations of each, there are two main types of DFS golf contests on DraftKings; Guaranteed Prize Pools (GPPs) and Cash games. In poker, these would be comparable to multi-table tournaments (MTTs) and sit n gos (SNGs) vs ring (cash) games.
GPPs generally feature a small portion of the player pool finishing in the money with top heavy prizes. Each week, DraftKings posts featured guaranteed events, which during golf’s major events are highlighted by “Millionaire maker” contests.
Cash games, or “double ups” and “50/50s” as they are typically listed by, will pay out half of the player pool double their investment. For example, if 20 players invested $10 into a cash game contest, the top 10 would be paid out $20. Roster construction for both styles of contests can be very different.
Building a DraftKings Golf Roster
Standard DraftKings golf contests feature a base salary of $50,000 which you must build a six-player lineup within. The players are priced from high to low based on their odds to win or to return value. The highest priced players are typically in the $10,000 to $11,000 price range while the cheapest players start at $6,000.
GPP lineups are built around scoring the most points possible while cash lineups are more about finding the safe plays to outscore just half of your opponents. Trying to figure out who your opponents will play is far more crucial to the outcome in GPPs than it is in cash games.
Points are earned based on how your players score throughout the tournament. Eagles, birdies, and pars will see your total rise with bonus points for aces, birdie streaks, and bogey free rounds. A player’s position in the event will also carry points with it but bogeys or worse will lower your score.
Contest Selection on DraftKings
Contests to Avoid
GPPs and cash games come in all shapes and sizes. We think if you're starting out, it can be beneficial to avoid the largest contests. Usually the smaller the contest, the maximum number of entries by a player goes down thereby making it easier to equal the field in your total number of entries. For example, if you can't afford to max out a 150 entry contest with a $10 entry fee, then we suggest you avoid it all together.
Start With These Contests
Single Entries are a great place to start due to every player in the contest only being able to enter one lineup. 3-Max contests are also great beginner contests since every player can only enter three lineups. From there, you can find 20-max contests and ultimately 150-max entry contests. Single entry contests will have smaller player pools week in and week out, peaking around 6,000 to 10,000 entries. While the 150-max contests can have you competing against hundreds of thousands of players for massive prize pools like the "Millionaire Maker" on DraftKings.
You Must Understand "Rake"
Knowing where your dollars are going is very important. If you're playing a paid contest on DraftKings, a portion of your entry fee goes directly to the house. “Rake” as it's commonly called, can be anywhere from 10-20% of your buy in.
There are exceptions to this as a lot of content creators will host weekly “listener league” contests that can feature low or no rake. However, the general rule is that the larger the contest, the more expensive the rake will be. When getting your start in DFS golf, search for the single entry and 3-max contests that carry lower rake, less opponents, and tighten the gap between you and experienced players only being able to enter a certain amount of lineups.
Must Have Tools to Get Started with DraftKings Golf
DFS golf has been around since 2015 on DraftKings. Whether you're a noob or maybe a recreational player off and on during the PGA TOUR season, there's plenty of sharp people, content creators, data sources and tools to help you gain your edge. We've listed four trusted sources below to help you get started.
- Fantasy National Golf Club is your one stop shop for PGA TOUR stats, course history, form & more.
- FNGC is a stats based database that features world class tools officially licensed by the PGA TOUR, powered by the ShotLink data directly from CDW. FNGC will provide you with strokes gained data, tournament history, recent form, course breakdowns, historic conditions, simulators, lineup generators and much, much more. You can create your own custom models, analyze Head to Head betting matchups, generate hundreds of lineups all while laying out the information in a simple format.
Take Advantage of the FREE Stuff
- Watch/Listen to our FREE Weekly Content
- Every week, we release several podcasts and videos on YouTube to provide you with some expert information about the upcoming event. We break down our favorite DraftKings picks and fades on one show, and then we follow up with our top bets of the week on the betting show. Later in the week, Pat provides some intel on his favorite drinks and a few more golf picks in the Fantasy Golf Sommelier video on YouTube.
- READ our FREE Weekly Content on TourJunkies.com
- You can find several written pieces on the TJ blog including, the Weekly Preview; a complete upcoming event preview detailing the course, field, and highlighting the picks and fades from the podcast. The Pivot Point provides two plays coming in under the radar. 10 Key Stats breaks down the most important stats of the week and the top 10 leaders in each category. DB’s Big Balls Betting Card displays DB’s favorite long shot bets of the week and the reasoning behind each play. Every piece of written content on the TJ blog is free to read and takes between 3-10 minutes to read in full.
The Most Valuable Tool You Can Buy
- Join Goalby's Nut Hut Private DISCORD Chat
- We've created a premium Discord server and filled it with like-minded golf addicts. The "Nut Hut" features exclusive caddie info from numerous sources including breakdowns and insight from a veteran PGA TOUR caddie. There's also a live show every Wednesday night for any last minute advice and questions before lock. Join hundreds of fellow golf enthusiasts in conversation and bounce your thoughts off some sharp DFS players. The server also features channels for NFL, NBA, NHL, UFC and MLB chatter along with a season-long listener league and other contests.
- Watch this 5 minute video tutorial on how to sign up for the Nut Hut if you're having trouble
- Watch this 10 minute video as DB takes you on a tour inside the Nut Hut to show you what you're missing if you're not currently a member.